Over the last four months, Mt. Edgecumbe High School students who come from all parts of Alaska have been gathering every Sunday evening in a classroom to teach one another the songs, dances, and traditions of their cultures as part of a new cross-cultural dance group.
Longtime school staff member Kenyatta Bradley launched the “MEHS All-Star” dance group this year. It’s composed of about two dozen kids who are active participants in the six other dance groups at the state-run boarding school.
“It has really encouraged me to learn more about my culture, about where I come from,” Fairah Huntington, a MEHS freshman from Anvik, told the Sentinel on Sunday.
“My community has shrunk, so I didn’t really grow up dancing or singing,” Huntington said. “Coming here I finally learned my songs from my peers. ... It kind of sparked something in me, like a new passion."
Bradley, the group’s founder, said he has worked at MEHS for 12 years as a state security employee. This year he became a residential living professional with NANA Corp., which contracts with the state to service the cafeteria and dormitories at MEHS.
As the 2025-26 school year began, Bradley was one of three full-time staff members creating recreation opportunities for all 400 students at MEHS.
“So, I ended up taking leadership of all six dance groups,” Bradley said. The groups represent the Lingít, Iñupiaq, Yup’ik, Unangax̂, Athabascan and Sugpiaq peoples.
Bradley said he didn’t expect to work with all the groups all year, but has continued on because the state did not hire another staff member to take the lead.
“And then, being in charge of the six dance groups, I was inspired to start a seventh dance group on Sundays at seven o'clock, and it is called the 'All-Star Dancers,'” Bradley said.
Students recall when Bradley unveiled his idea of pulling dancers into one All-Star group.
“I’m like, ‘Yeah, I want to join, I want to get to know other people’s songs and dances and learn about other cultures,’” recalls Chloe Zachabof, a freshman of St. Paul Island, one of about 10 Unangax̂ dance group members. “That’s what made me want to join this group."
“I thought I’d like to join because it was interesting,” said Krista Stine, a sophomore from Barrow.
“I thought it would be cool to work with other cultures,” said senior Trinity Joe of Nightmute, a member of the Yup’ik dance groups. “It’s interesting and also fun to learn other people’s songs.”
Bradley said that “part of it was, I got to hang out with all these cool kids at different times, but they didn't really know each other. So when I brought it together, it felt like really a good cultural collaboration.”
“I’m more of a facilitator,” said Bradley, who is Tlingit and Unangax̂, and whose grandmother attended MEHS after growing up in Atka. Bradley said he's been able to learn some Unangax̂ dances from MEHS student dancers.
The students said it’s been more fun than challenging to teach each other their cultural songs and dances. The different Alaska Native languages share some similar sounds, the students noted.
“There’s certain sounds you make in the back of the throat,” said Anysia Dushkin, a freshman from Atka, who is a member of the Unangax̂ dance group. “I know that’s true in Lingít, and we have some of the same songs in Yup’ik.”
Students also play drums built specific to their cultures. Some bring regalia to wear during performances.
“If people don’t wear regalia, then they traditionally wear black,’ said Stanley Kochergin, a senior from St. Paul Island. “People wear regalia for their own culture – like Athabascan and Unangax̂ wears theirs, and whoever wears qaspeqs wears qaspeqs."
Since convening as the All-Star group around the time of winter break, the students have showcased their skills for attendees at the Alaska Library Association Conference in March and the Sitka Rose Awards in April.
In early April, a cohort of All-Stars traveled for a trip to Juneau that Bradley organized with support from the state, which operates MEHS.
The students performed at Glacier Valley Elementary, Kax̲dig̲oowu Héen Elementary School, and the Zach Gordon Youth Center.
“We were performing for elementary kids and they were just all so cute, and they were really enjoying our performances and dancing with us,” said Johanna Hotch-Mattson, a senior from Gustavus who is part of the Lingít and All-Star dance groups.
While in Juneau, the students also performed at the Andrew P. Kashevaroff Building, which houses the Alaska State Museum; in between gigs they tried new foods, visited the glacier, played cards and went on drives.
“It was like I was traveling with very close friends, like family, almost,” Huntington said. “We walked around while it was sunny – that was one of my favorite memories.”
Bradley said the All-Star group is a “solution to travel,” giving opportunities to the most dedicated members of all six cultural dance groups without privileging any one group.
The group has received support from many other school staff, community members and the MEHS Student Arts Project -- a group of volunteers that stepped up this year to raise funds for MEHS cultural activities, supplies, and student travel to cultural events.
Travel and other dance group experiences could help give students a “reason to return” to the school next year, Bradley said.
Hotch-Mattson said her sister will enroll as a freshman at MEHS next year, and “if the Tlingit dance group is still going on, she'll be a part of it, and I’ll see if she’ll join the All-Stars.”
The senior students said they’ll miss sharing moments with members of all seven dance groups at MEHS.
Senior Alexander Zaochney-Truong of Atka, who participates in most of the MEHS dance groups, said that while he’s looking forward to graduating, “in my opinion it can take its time.”
